The Swing

March 13, 2017

Saturday at 3.30pm. I am seated (or should I say swinging) on this big endearing swing at The Arbor. It is long and wide the size of a large baby crib with a thin but firm red foam base and two small cushions to support one’s back. I feel like I am suspended on a quaint sofa bed that’s swaying involuntarily. My mind is placid, my thoughts unruffled. This swing almost evokes the same feeling as lying on a hammock by the beach would, something I hope to do soon.

The hammock swing (you can tell where my otherwise unruffled thoughts have scattered to!) is supposed to help me tell a story. You see, I was at the office for about three hours, catching up on some reads, responding to emails and reviewing some work. And when I was done, I excitedly clicked open a word document hoping to write my Monday feature in 30 minutes tops. Excitedly because I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. If anything, I wasn’t having the common creatives’ lack of content problem but instead, was struggling with too much content.

Deciding what story to bring to life was my dilemma as I had listed about six things that that could easily earn some space on the blog. All captivating in their own way. I finally picked one and for some reason, I couldn’t get past the header. So, I figured a change of scenery was very much-needed.

Now here I am typing away seated in lotus position, my laptop resting on my legs and a sangria squeezed in between my thighs for support. Don’t even ask about the sangria.

The other week, I came across an article on Facebook written in 2015 and titled “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A fuck”. I wished I had stumbled upon it around the time it was written for two reasons. One, Mark Manson is officially my new favorite writer and if only I “met” him earlier! He writes about motivational stuff but with an edge and he has humor for days! It is his sense of humor and the way he paces his articles that gets me reading his lengthy pieces till the end. Two, the article taught me to expend my energy (both positive and negative) on things that mater.

I know this may sound obvious, but if you are impatient like I am, you may tend to get frustrated very easily when things don’t go your way. You know like when you find yourself cursing because there’s a snaking line of cars ahead of you and you are running late, or power goes off in the middle of a thrilling movie (or God forbid soccer match) and you let out a big “F you Kenya Power!”, or let’s say you are the type that always keeps time but your people always show up late whenever you plan to meet for breakfast, lunch or a drink. When you understand that your fucks are limited, you will dish them out wisely!

You all know how my tales can be winding, and reading them may sometimes feel like unreeling 100 yards of imaginary twine. So, I promised myself not to put you through unnecessarily long posts anymore, and to keep my features to a maximum of 600 words. Unless, I have a gripping story. How about for today you read Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck. If you have read it before good for you, if not catch up. Next week on Monday I will show you how this article changed my attitude towards many things, allowing me to have the most beautiful, peaceful and productive week ever.
Happy reading!